Engine-starter



Patented Jan. 13, 1920;

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

w E m W. E. BURROWS AND W. A. SPANGLER.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I0. 1919.

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ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, l9l9.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

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W. E. BURROWS AND W. A. SPANGLER.

ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10. 1919.

13,1920. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- Patented Jan.

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WILLIAM E. BURROWS AND WILLIAM A. SPANGLER, OF ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1920.

Application filed June 10, 1919. Serial No. 303,096.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM E. BUR- nows and l/VILLIAM A. SPANGLER, citizens of the United States, residing at St. Joseph, in the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

Our invention relates to improvements in pneumatic starters for engines, and the obj ects of our improvements are, first; to provide a simple, substantial and durable starter of this class, which can be set in motion by the use of a pedal and which automatically stops itself, second; to provide valve reversing means whereby the starter is automatically converted into an air pump upon removal of the operators foot from said pedal, third; to provide pressure adjusting means whereby the normal pressure of air pumped by said starter is manually adjusted and set to any desired pressure, fourth; to provide stopping means whereby said starter is automatically stopped after it has pumped air up to said-normal pressure, fifth; to provide rotating means operated by action of the previously mentioned pedal, whereby the rotative parts of the starter are rotated for moving the valves from closed to open position.

lVe attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side view of the starter, showing the parts in position for starting an engine, certain parts of the vehicle frame being broken away. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the parts in position for pumping air. Fig. 3 1s a top view of the parts seen in Fig. 1. Fig. lis a longitudinal section, out vertically through the center of the starter, certain parts being omitted. Fig. 5 is a similar section of the cylinder and the valves in detail, showing the valves closed.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the rotatably mounted starter shaft 1 has pinion 2 secured thereon, which pinion is in engagement with the intermediate gear 3, which latter is in engagement with the drive gear 4., which is secured on the engine shaft 5.

Said intermediate gear is secured on shaft 6, the ends of which are rotatably mounted in boxes 7, each one of Which has a journal Fig. 3. The last mentioned boxes are secured on the cross head guides 10, on which the cross head 11 is slidably mounted. Said cross head is rod and crank connected with the starter shaft 1, by the connecting rod 12, crank wrist 13 and crank disks 14c, in. the usual well known manner.

Piston rod 15 (see Figs. 1 and 5) is slidable throughthe packing box 19 which is connected with the head 16 of'cylinder 17 The outer end of said rod is secured in said cross head, while its inner end is secured in the piston 18.

Said cylinder has the rear head 20 secured thereon and the flange 16 and 20' formed therewith, which flanges are secured on the frame pieces 21 of a vehicle, part of said frame pieces being broken away.

Ports 22 and 23 are formed through the upper corners of said cylinder and lead into valves 27 and 28 respectively.

The air passage 24: and the exhausts 25 and 26 are formed with said cylinder, and passage of air therethrough and through said ports is controlled by said valves, which are osoillatably mounted in said air passages. I

Said valves are oscillated by their respective cranks 29 and 30, which are rod connected by connecting rod 31.

Stud 32 is secured in the intermediate portion of said connecting rod and extends through the slot 33, which is formed through the upper end portion of the rocker arm 33. The lower end of said arm is secured on one end of shaft 34:, which is oscillatably mounted in bearings 35, which are formed with cylinder 17.

The arm stud 36 is secured in the inter mediate portion of said rocker arm and extends through the link slot 37, which is formed through link 37. The upper and lower ends of said link are rod connected with eccentrics 38 and 39 by eccentric rods 4:0 and 41, respectively. Said eccentrics are secured on an end portion of the starter shaft 1.

This link and eccentric mechanism forms the well known reversing means, whereby the movements of the valves 27 and 28 are reversed, as hereinafter described.

Re r g to Fig. the lower end of plpe 42 is connected with passage 24, and is provided with ball check-valve 43, which permits passage of air therethrough into said passage and prevents return movement of said air. The upper end or" said pipe is connected with one side of the three-way cock 4 4:, the upper side of which isconnected with the air storage tank 45, by the pipe 46.

The lower end of pipe i? is connected with passage 2%, and is provided with the ball check-valve 13, which prevents passage of air therethrough into passage 24 and permits air to pass therefrom through said pipe and valve. The upper end of said pipe is connected with one side of said three-way cock, while its intermediate portion is connected with the rear end of the controller cylinder 49.

The controller pisto is slidably mounted in said cylinder, and is yieldably held in the position shown, by the helical spring 51, one end of which presses against said piston, while its other end presses against the pisston rod guide 552. The position of said guide is adjusted y nuts 53, scr wed on the s;u.ds 54, for adjusting the tension of. said spring, which is mounted on the piston rod 55. The rear ends of said studs are secured in bosses formed on the front end portion of the cy inder 49. The inner end of said piston rod is secured in piston 50, while the outer end of said rod is slidably mounted in said guide. The outer extremity of said rod is pivotally connected with the rear end of the breaker rod 56, the front end portion of which breaks the alinement of the buck knees, as hereinafter described.

The three-way cock A is crank and rod connected with the front end of pedal 57 (see Fig.1) by crank 58, the enlarged portion 59 of rod 59, by said rod, th oscil latably mounted L crank 60 and the con necting rod 61.

Cock is also connected with the upper end '01 link 37, by crank 62 and connecting rod 63. The helical spring 64.- is mounted on the rear end portion of rod 59. One end of said spring presses against the enlarged portion 59 of said rod, while its other end presses against the washer 65, which latter is thereby pressed against the bifurcated end of the bracket stop 68. The upper end of said bracket stop (see Fig. 3,) is adapted to be secured on the undesignated one of the frame pieces 67, of which only a portion is shown.

Said spring and its connected parts which are. actuated thereby form automatic actuatinp; means for actuating the previously described valve reversing means.

The buck knee I shaft 68 is oscillatably mounted in a pair of boxes 69, of which but one is shown. Said boxes are secured on the vehicle rame ,pieces6 The pp s 015 the buck knee members 70" are secured on said shaft, and have their lower ends hinge connected with the upper ends of the lower buck knee members 71, by the hinge bolts 72. The lower ends of the members 71 are pivotally connected with the gear carrier 8, by the journals 7 and boxes 7.

The lower end of spring, 7 3 is hook connected with the eye 8, which is formed on the free end of said ear carrier, for lifting the latter. The upper end of said spring is similarly connected with the eye 74, which is secured on the under side of the vehicle frame piece 67.

The pedal 57 is oscillatahly mounted on the upper end oi the lever 57, the lower end of which is secured on the buck knee shaft- 68, as seen in Fig. 1.

The upper end of the pawl 76 is oscillatably mounted on said shaft while its lower end rests against pawl rest 7 5, in such position that the teeth of the intermediate gear 3 are moved into engagement with the lower extremity of said pawl, when said gear is lifted, for slightly rotating said gear, for purposes hereinafter described. The rear end of the pawl rest 75 is secured on the forward end of one of the cross head guides 10, while its front end is in such position that the free end portion of pawl 76 gravitates thereagainst.

These parts form starter rotating means, whereby the engine starter is rotated to t e proper position for opening the valves 27 and 28, should said valves be closed, as seen in Fig. 5.

In the operation of the engine starter, with the gear 3 and its previously described buck knee and pedal operated lowering mechanism in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the remainder of the parts in the position shown in said figure, the operator places his foot on the pedal 57 and with his heel depresses the heel portion of said pedal, seen at 57, from said indi cated position, to the position seen in 1, and thereafter moves the pedal 57 from said indicated position to the position seen in Fig. 1, thereby moving all of said indicated parts from their indicated position seen in Fig. 2, to the position seen in Fig. 1, including gear 3, which is thereby moved into engagement with the orive gear W ien the heel portion of pedal 57 depressed, as previously described, said pedal is thereby oscillated, which by its previously described rod and crank connections, oscillates cook 44: and moves link 37, from the position seen in Fig. 2, to the position seen in l. The operator holds the parts in the position seen in Fig. 1, against the res stance of spring 6%, with the three-way cock in the position seen also in Fig. 4. lVhile the operator thus holds the parts in the position seen in Fig. 1, the engine shaft 5 is rotated eounter elockwise, thereby starting the engine (which is not shown,) by the following described action of the parts.

Referring to Fig. 4, air having been pumped previously to normal pressure in the air storage tank 45, said air passes therefrom through pipe 46, three-way cook 44, the upper portion of pipe 42, check valve 43, the lower portion of said pipe, air passage 24, valve 27 and port 22, into cylinder 17, against piston 18. Sair air moves said piston toward the left, thereby ejecting air from the left end portion of said cylinder, through port 28, valve 28 and exhaust 26.

Referring to Fig. 1, the thus moving piston, by its described rod and crank connections, rotates the starter shaft 1 counterclockwise, thereby similarly rotating the eccentrics 38 and 39. Eccentric 38 by its described rod, link and stud connections, moves the upper end portion of rocker arm 33 toward the right, which by its stud, rod and crank connections, oscillates the valves 27 and 28 from the position seen in Fig. 4, to the position seen in Fig. 5, with the piston 18 at the end of its stroke. At this juncture inertia of the rotating parts moves the valves 27 and 28 from the position seen in Fig. 5, toward the position indicated by clotted lines in Fig. 4, which admits air from tank 45, through the previously described air conducting means, including passage 24, through valve 28 and port 23, into the left end of cylinder 17. The thus admitted air moves piston 18 toward the right, thereby ejecting air from the right end portion of said cylinder, through port 22, valve 27 and exhaust 25. This movement of the parts continues the rotation of the starter shaft 1 and the thereby rotated parts, including the engine shaft 5.

After the thus rotated engine shaft has attained reasonable speed and the energy of the unshown engine is being exerted in rotating said shaft; the operator takes his foot from pedal 57, upon which spring 64, by the described moving means and the valve reversing means, moves the parts from the position shown in Fig. 1, to the position shown in Fig. 2, with cock 44 and the valves 27 and 28 in the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4.

While the parts are in the position last described, the engine shaft 5 is rotated by the energy of the unshown engine, thereby driving the described starter, which latter pumps air into tank 45 through the following described air conducting means.

Said pumped air passes from the left end portion of cylinder 17, through port 23, valve 28, passage 24, the lower end portion of pipe 47, check valve 48, the rear end of the controller cylinder 49, the upper end portion of pipe 47, three-way cock 44 and pipe 46 into the air storage tank 45, While said piston 18 is moving toward the left it inducts air into the right end portion of said cylinder 17, through opening 25, valve 27 and port 22.

When said piston reaches the end of-its stroke, the valves 27 and 28 are closed, after which continued rotation of the parts, reopens said valves for the induction and ejectingof air from the opposite ends of said cylinder, through the last described air conducting means into tank 45.

The operation of eccentrics 38 and 39, the valves 27 and 28 and their movement reversing mechanism, are so well known and understood, that further description of the same is deemed unnecessary.

Previous to the described engine starting and air pumping operations, the normal pressure of air to be carried in tank 45, was determined by adjusting the tension of the spring 51.

The previously described engine starting operations used some of said stored air, thereby reducing its pressure, after Which, by the described pumping operations the pressure of air in said tank is raised slightly above normal which pressure moves the controller piston 50 outward from the positionseen in Fig. 4. This movement is continued until the thereby overcome spring 51 is fully compressed. The thus moved piston moves its piston rod 55, and the therewith c011- nected breaker rod 56 in'the same direction, which moves the innerend of the slots 56 (see Fig. 2,) from the position shown, to the position indicated by dotted lines. This movement of the bifurcated end 56 of rod 56, moves the hinge bolts 7 2 toward the left, thereby breaking the alinement of the buck knee members and 71.

At this juncture spring 73 lifts the free end of the gear carrier 8, from the position shown in Fig. 2, to the position indicated by dotted lines. This lifts the therein mounted intermediate gear 3 from engagement with the drive gear 4, and also moves said buck knee members and the pedal 57 from their positions shown, to their positions indicated by dotted lines, ready for the previously described operations to be repeated.

hen said intermediate gear is thus'lifted from the drive gear, the described operations of pumping air are thereby stopped.

In a short space of time thereafter, the pressure of said pumped air is slightly reduced by the radiation therefrom, (through I tank 45,) of its heat of compression; after which spring 51 moves the piston. 50 from its described position, to the position shown in Fig. 4.

Should the valves 27 and 28 be closed, as i seen in Fig. 5, when the operator desires to start the starter, he ascertains the same from the fact that said starter'does not immediately start upon depressing the heel portion 57, as previously described in the operation of pedal 57. In such case he moves said pedal forward suflicient distance to somewhat, but not fully lower the gear carrier 8, and thereafter allows the spring 73 to fully recover the movement. This carries a tooth of gear 3 against the free end of pawl 7 6, holding the same against further upward movement, while the other portions of said gear are lifted by its carrier 8, thereby slightly rotating said gear counter-clockwise.

The described short movements forward and backward of said pedal are repeated, until said valves are thereby opened. This is ascertained by the noise and vibration, caused by the starting of the starter, after which said operator moves said pedal to the forward limit of its movement, as previously described.

Having fully described our invention what we claim as new is:

1. A rotatably mounted engine shaft; a drive gear secured on said shaft; a rotatably mounted starter shaft; mounting means in which said starter shaft is mounted; an en gine starter whereby said starter shaft is rotated; a gear carrier oscillatably mounted on said mounting means; a pinion secured on said starter shaft; an intermediate gear rotatably mounted in said gear carrier said intermediate gear being in engagement with said pinion; a spring for lifting the free end portion of said gear carrier; buck knee lowering means connected with said gear carrier whereby said spring is overcome and the free end portion of said gear carrier is manually lowered; yieldable holding means whereby said carrier is yieldably held in its lowered position; a pedal mounted on the upper end of said lowering means whereby the latter is manually operated for lowering said gear carrier; and buck knee moving means whereby the central portions of said buck knees are automatically moved for releasing said lowering means.

2, A. rotatably mounted engine shaft; a drive gear secured onsaid shaft; a rotatably mounted starter shaft; a pneumatically operated starter whereby said starter shaft is rotated; an air storage tank for holding air under pressure; air conducting means for conducting air from said starter into said tank; other air conducting means for conducting air from said tank into said starter; reversible air directing means in sald air conducting means; a spring for yieldably holding said air directing means in position for directing air through the first mentioned air conducting means; and inanually-operated reversing means whereby said air directing means is moved against the action of said spring for directing air through said other air directing means, thereby driving said starter.

3, A rotatably mounted engine shaft adapted to be rotated by an engine; a d ie gear secured on said shaft; a starter shaft; mounting means in which said starter shaft is rotatably mounted; a pinion secured on said starter shaft; a gear carrier oscillatably mounted on said mounting means; an intermediate gear shaft; gear shaft mounting means secured on the central portion of said gear carrier; buck knee journals formed on an end of each member of said mounting means; an intermediate gear secured on said gear shaft said gear being in engagement with said pinion; a spring for lifting the free end portion of said gear carrier; a pair of lower buck. knee members having their lower ends mounted on said buck knee journals; an oscillatably mounted buck knee shaft; a pair of upper buck knee members having their upper ends secured on said buck knee shaft; a pair of hinge bolts whereby the lower ends of said upper members are respectively hinge connected with the upper ends of said lower members; a pedal lever having its lower end secured on said buck knee shaft; and a pedal mounted on the upper end of said pedal lever whereby said lever is manually moved for moving said buck knee members into and slightly past alinement, thereby overcoming said spring and lowering the free portion of said gear carrier for lowering the therein carried gear into engagement with said drive gear.

4:. A rotatably mounted engine shaft; a rot'atably mounted starter shaft; movable gear connections whereby said shafts are gear connected; buck knee moving means whereby said gear connections are moved for engaging the latter; a pneumatically operated starter for rotating said starter shaft said starter also acting as an air pump for pumping air under pressure; air conducting inoz'in's for conducting air from said starter; a tank into which said air is conducted through said conducting means; and a controller connected with said air conducting means whereby said buck knee moving means is released for disengaging said gear connections when the air in said tank has reached a predetermined pressure.

5. An engine shaft; a drive gear secured on said engine shaft; a starter for starting rotation of said engine shaft; a starter shaft; mounting means in which said starter shaft is rotatably mounted; rod and crank connections whereby said starter is connected with said starter shaft; valves for said starter; valve moving means operated by rotation of said starter shaft whereby said valves are opened and closed; a pinion secured on said starter shaft; a gear carrier having one of its ends oscillatably mounted on a portion of said starter shaft mounting means; an intermediate gear rotatably mounted in said gear carrier in engagement with said pinion; manually operated carrier lowering means whereby the free portion of said carrier and the therein carried intermediate gear are lowered; an oscillatably mounted pawl; a pawl rest on which the free end of said pawl is supported adjacent to the periphery of said intermediate gear; and a spring whereby the free end portion of said carrier and the therein carried gear are lifted, thereby lifting a tooth of said intermediate gear into contact with the free 10 In testimony whereof we ai'fix our sig- 15 natures.

WILLIAM E. BURROWS. WILLIAM A. SPAN GLER. 

